Wî Â Ritoru Zonbîzu
2019 / 120m - Japan
Comedy, Music
3.5*/5.0*
We Are Little Zombies poster

Watches

June 28, 2020

3.5*/5.0*

This felt particularly fun and fresh. Makoto Nagahisa's first full-length feature is quite the calling card, overflowing with novel ideas and presented with plenty of flair and audacity. On paper this film is supposed to be right up my alley, somehow though it wasn't quite as good as the sum of its parts.

I can't quite recall any other film with a chiptune soundtrack. On the one hand it shows that We Are Little Zombies is quite forward-thinking, on the other hand it also illustrates how slow and backwards the medium of cinema is. Which is probably why this film never really got to me. I grew up in the 80s/90s and appreciate the whole 8-bit vibe here, but that's 30 years ago. I simply prefer a more modern approach.

The presentation is pretty slick though. Lots of visual gags, crazy cinematography, funny and interesting characters and a constant onslaught of twists and turns. The film's a tad too long and also a little fragmented, with certain parts working better than others, but overall Nagahisa succeeded in showing off his talent. Now let's bring him back to our time and let him make a film for the 2020s.